Jannik Sinner arrived at Roland Garros as a prohibitive favorite and a game from the third round. He left it on Thursday as the author of one of the most stunning collapses in the tournament’s recent history, beaten by world No. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 after leading by two sets and 5-1.
The world No. 1 had lost only five games through two and a half sets on a sweltering Court Philippe-Chatrier, hitting cleanly and moving Cerundolo around at will. Serving for the match at 5-1 in the third, he suddenly began to falter, dropping 15 consecutive points as the Argentine clawed back into the set. Sinner grabbed at his back, sat on the courtside LED boards, and told chair umpire Aurelie Tourte he felt unwell. Cerundolo took the third 7-5, then surged through the final two sets for the loss of just two games to complete the comeback of his career after three hours and 36 minutes.
It was the first defeat in 31 matches for Sinner, who had swept all five ATP Masters 1000 titles in 2026 and carried a 30-match winning streak into Paris. Cerundolo, ranked 56th and into the third round of a major for the first time, becomes the first player since 2000 to beat the No. 1 men’s seed at Roland Garros before the third round. It is the first top-10 win of his career.
The turning point. At the heart of the collapse was a medical timeout that drew immediate criticism. With Sinner serving at 5-4, having lost the lead, he consulted the umpire about his options. Courtside microphones captured him saying he felt dizzy and nauseous, and at one point telling an official he wanted to vomit. After raising concerns about dehydration in the extreme heat, he was permitted to leave the court for treatment. Television cameras showed him returning visibly diminished; he managed only two more games the rest of the way.
The decision divided opinion in real time. Calling the match for TNT, former world No. 1 Jim Courier objected sharply on air, arguing that cramping is not a treatable medical condition under the rules and that the timeout handed Sinner an unfair advantage over his opponent. The episode revived a debate that had followed Sinner from the Italian Open weeks earlier, where he also received a contested medical timeout during his semi-final. With heat advisories in force in Paris and temperatures around 32 degrees Celsius, the line between cramp and genuine illness became the day’s central argument.
Sinner’s account. The Italian offered a measured explanation afterward. He said he had slept poorly and woken feeling unwell, and had tried to keep points short early before running out of energy. “I started to feel very dizzy,” he told a packed press conference. “In the beginning, I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just hit the wall, that’s it.” It was, he added, the kind of off day that can surface at any Grand Slam.
What it means. The defeat ends Sinner’s bid to complete the career Grand Slam, with Roland Garros the only major missing from his collection, and marks his earliest exit in Paris since 2023. For the second straight year his French Open campaign ended in five sets. With Carlos Alcaraz already absent through injury, it is the first time since the 2023 US Open that neither will contest a major final, and the men’s draw has been thrown wide open.
Cerundolo, gracious in victory, said he felt for his opponent. He next faces Martin Landaluce or Vit Kopriva for a place in the fourth round.
